Ms Niamh O'Donoghue:

There are a number of different elements and the Comptroller and Auditor General has raised the issue of suitability and standards of accommodation. The community welfare service officers are not responsible for gauging or monitoring the quality of the accommodation because the tenancy agreement is effectively an agreement between the tenant and the landlord and is a private contract to which the Department is not party. Our view on home visits is that the person from the community welfare service or the social welfare inspector should have the opportunity to visit a premises where such a visit might be warranted. As in the response I provided already, we have taken legal powers to reinforce and extend the facility available to inspectors to visit accommodation, but it is more about ensuring the terms of the scheme are abided by rather than the quality of the accommodation. I am very conscious other State agencies are involved in this, such as the Private Residential Tenancies Board and the local authorities, and we work closely with them.

What was pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor General were inconsistencies in practice throughout various regions. We have put together a working group in the Department comprising staff who were previously involved in the community welfare service with a view to looking at and trying to standardise practice where it is appropriate and issue guidelines to staff so there is clarity on what is expected of them in terms of dealing with claims.